Give into the darkness

As a child, I lived in a village. The village was small and near a dense forest. We were never on a map but we told tales that could stop anyone. But they weren’t tales of heroes, nor of our village. No, these tales were of the forest and its debauchery and what tales they were. By, day the forest was designated to work and work alone. Venturing into the forest by day would result in punishment and a lack of dinner. Venturing into it by night, however was a punishment of its own. The demons inside it would rip you to shreds, destroy your mind, and after all the pain bring you back to perfection so they could do it all over again. How twisted it truly was. It worked as no child ever went in there and the teenagers were made to work.
But as I grew older, my curiosity grew as well. I always wondered what it was like there and how the demons inflicted the pain. Odd, I know, but it couldn’t be helped. So one night I decided to go out and let my parents know I was going to. They warned me against it, but after a while they accepted, but made me take a bright candle. I accepted it and walked out to the forest. I held the candle so I could see my every move. But when I saw movement, I held the candle only to see the demons I had been warned of. But rather than assaulting me, they fled and disappeared into the night. I looked at the trees and they looked wilted and poisoned. I returned home, seeing as the forest was now empty.
However , after working the next day, I returned to that same forest, but without a candle. As soon as I was out of the village, the moon guided my path and served as my light. When I arrived to the same spot as where I was last night, I saw people and animals enjoying entertainment and food. They looked normal, not savage or demonic, but normal. I approached them and one of them came up to me, welcoming me to their outpost. I sat with them a while and talked, wondering why they were so hated if they were so kind.
I returned to the village and from then on, I would go to that forest every night. But on a trip back to the village, I found a new headstone had been erected, one that had my name inscribed on it. I asked the villagers of it and they claimed he had been slaughtered by the forest’s demons. I was deeply offended, for I came back and worked a whole day’s work.
From then on I dwelled in a cave in that forest. I never returned to my village, even when I wanted to. I stayed there for a few years. Then I left for a village, one that was not my own. It was a village where all forest dwellers went, man and beast alike. So I went there and established myself. However I get mail from my own village, pleading me to come, back claiming they have the cure for any pain or illness, even the cure for death. I refuse all and remain here.

Now, if I may, I would like to explain this tale I have told you, for it is not factual, but rather a cover for hidden truths.

The village where I started is the group we are born in, no matter what it is. It also may represent a place where we do not necessarily belong because we started there, not found our way there.
The people of that same village are members of that same group.
The inhabitants of the forest are those hated by the starting village, because they are things the villagers do not like, whether because of actions or appearance.
The daytime represents our progress, because we work in light and act as we are supposed to.
The night represents knowledge and wisdom, for there is much of each and no matter how much we reveal, there is much we will never know about, just like the darkness.
The forest represents our individual being, for during the day, we work and act as we are told, but during the night we become what desire to be and anything may happen.
The candle I brought with me represents opinions and bias, for like the flame in the forest, it sways and distorts the things that exist, even the knowledge surrounds us.
The moon represents truth and understanding, because as soon as we rid ourselves of opinions, we see with true light that which surrounds us and how it truly exists. We no longer have the knowledge that surrounds us be poisoned by opinions, nor those unknown friends destroyed by bias, for the truth guides us through the unknown and helps us comprehend all that is there.
The punishments and threats represent those close to us trying to make us into what they want, because they want us to walk only here they have been and feel our freedom is too dangerous for us.
My continuous leaving the village represents the search for our true selves, because while we have a home and everything else, we need to bathe in knowledge and discover what everything means, even when others don’t want us to know.
The headstone represents others calling us dead or abandoning us, for though we may do a million things they want, but when we do things we want even once, they may consider us dead to them.
The cave represents our own little abode because it shelters us while we are away from our usual dwelling and it tends to be left alone and set up for our needs.
Conclusively the last village represents our true home. Though it is not where we started, we feel we belong, even if our last stop was the same as the beginning. We should stay where we feel we belong, not where others want us. Though our choice may need to be based on others, we also should matter in the decision.

Now many may wonder why I wasted our time writing this. Sure you probably have better or more entertaining things to do, but please stop to think about this. We all work towards a constant progress of doing something. But what drives us to do it? Is it the words of family and friends or the passionate fires that burn within us? I didn’t write this entire thing to offer what I know to others, for what I know won’t help you. I wrote this because we need to be individuals, not just another number in the sequence. I wrote this to make you stop and think why you are what you are. The more you know of yourself, the stronger you will be. And some are probably saying what they interpreted this as or why some makes no sense. My friend, there is a comment and/or review box waiting for your answer/question/interpretation. To all those who read this through thank you and to those who started reflecting because of my words thank you as well.